Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., has introduced legislation that would require the White House to hold press briefings on camera, according to the Connecticut paper The Hartford Courant.

"A free and independent press is essential to the survival of a functioning democracy. The media's role is to ask the tough questions on behalf of the American public and work to hold our leaders accountable," Himes said in a statement, according to the Courant.

The congressman calls the bill the "Free Press Act." It requires two on-camera briefings from the White House per week, according to a Thursday Facebook post from Himes.

Press Secretary Sean Spicer held frequent on-camera briefings in Donald Trump's first few months as president, but that amount has declined. In July, only two off-camera press briefings have been held. In six of the past nine weeks, only one or no briefings were held.

The congressman's office looked at American Presidency Project data and found that, at this point in his presidency, Trump has held the fewest briefings of the previous three presidents, according to The Huffington Post.

Bill Clinton: 152.

Barack Obama: 114.

George W. Bush: 74.

Trump: 71.

Himes has been critical of the Trump administration's actions toward the media before. On July 3, he responded to Trump's doctored Wrestlemania video by saying, "Dictators attack the media."